Newcastle United legends bring festive spirit to Memory Café Christmas party | OneFootball

The annual celebration has become a cherished tradition, uniting fans living with life‑changing conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s, along with their carers and families. It offers an afternoon of festive cheer, in the company of familiar faces from years gone by.

Following a warm welcome from the club’s CEO, David Hopkinson, guests shared stories and revisited some of the club’s most famous black‑and‑white moments with the likes of Bob Moncur, John Anderson, David Craig, Pop Robson, Malcolm Macdonald and Charlie Woods.

IMMENSE JOY AND FAMILIAR FACES

The afternoon gave legends such as Malcolm Macdonald the chance to revisit some of their most treasured moments, with ‘Supermac’ often asked to recount his sensational home‑debut hat‑trick in a 3–2 win over Liverpool more than five decades ago.

“What the Memory Café does – not just at Christmas but every month – is spark memories. You can see a real light being switched on within people,” Macdonald explained.

“Some of the attendees here today couldn’t tell you what they did this morning, but they can tell you the name of the player who overlapped to deliver a cross in a match more than 50 years ago.

“It’s a pleasure to come along and talk to people, because I might just know something that helps unlock a memory. I get to hear the terrace view of how they saw certain moments, which can be quite different from how it felt on the pitch.

“One of the truly lovely things is seeing the immense joy on the faces of families. Being a couple of decades younger, they won’t share the same memories as people like myself, Bob Moncur or Pop Robson. We lived those moments, and that can really help spark conversation.

“I always look forward to our traditional Christmas gathering and the memories that will be recalled throughout the afternoon.”

A MILESTONE FOR THE MEMORY CAFÉ

This year’s Christmas gathering marked the end of a landmark 12 months for the Memory Café, which welcomed its 5000th attendee ahead of World Alzheimer’s Month in September. The initiative continues to offer a safe, supportive environment by combining the power of football with access to medical referrals and wider community support.

A HELPING HAND

The Memory Café Christmas party is organised as part of Newcastle United’s ‘A Helping Hand at Christmas’ campaign, relaunched by Newcastle United and Newcastle United Foundation. This year, the campaign pledges to support more than 1,000 local families in need.

Throughout December, players and staff have been dedicating time to deliver memorable moments, tackle food poverty and provide warm spaces within the community.

More information about A Helping Hand at Christmas can be found here.